


For Here or To Go?

by jaws_3



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Comedy, Fluff, Hayner continues to be an oblivious fool, M/M, Meet-Cute, Seifer's bad at courting, slight university au, there's a ghost, they're uni age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-10 18:46:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18413753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaws_3/pseuds/jaws_3
Summary: From shifts changes, to ghost hunts, to pesky (and not handsome at all) customers, in all in a day for coffee shop worker Hayner Chase.





	For Here or To Go?

**Author's Note:**

> one of my friends was like "what even is a coffeeshop au?" and all I can say is... not this  
> please enjoy!

**morning** |ˈmôrniNG|

noun

_the period of time between midnight and noon, especially from sunrise to noon._

Or, according to one Hayner Chase, _Hell._

Hayner’s never liked mornings. Not since childhood, when mornings promised things like adventure and cartoons. Nowadays, all mornings promise him are things like university classes he regrets choosing and pop quizzes he forgot to study for. Mornings are what cause him to doze off on his skateboard and bail hard, scraping half his knee off and embarrassing himself in front of cute classmates. Mornings are when he dropped fresh coffee on his new shoes or ripped his favourite jacket trying to take the stupid thing _off_.

Disasters. Mornings are when disasters happen.

(His friends try and reason this is only because Hayner has the terrible habit of staying up way too late for his early morning duties but Hayner ignores them. It’s not his fault video games are so darn distracting.)

His, understandable, hatred of mornings is why, when Olette coerces him into working at the same coffee shop she did - they were in desperate need of staff - he lays down the law and tells them he would _only_ be working closing shifts.

As it turned out, that’s what they were looking for, so it worked out perfectly. With there being no need for him to wake up at ridiculous hours until university started up again, Hayner knew he would be home free of Early Morning Disasters… for at least a little while.

That is, of course, until... The Request.

Now, along with mornings, another thing Hayner has never liked are morning _shifts_ . He had trained on them a couple of times, of course, but only because it had been a requirement for the job. Even if he solely worked closing, he still needed to pretend he knew how opening worked, despite promising himself he would never, _ever_ , put himself through it.

(Five in the morning is _not_ a time humans are meant to be up. Hayner is positive of it.)

However, when your angel of a best friend comes _barging_ into your apartment with tears in her eyes, _begging_ you take her mornings shifts so she could go to some fancy program she’s been dreaming of taking since she was, “Twelve, Hayner! _Twelve!”_ Well... You gotta do what you gotta do.

Which, for Hayner, is exchange an entire _month_ of his closing shifts for Olette’s mornings, for he is the only one to consistently have said closing shifts.

His love for Olette, and his arrogance at thinking only getting closing shifts was God smiling on him, are the only reasons he finds himself stumbling along the cracked sidewalk leading to his work at five thirty in the morning.

He’s still half asleep and rubbing at his blurry eyes, desperately trying to decipher the lengthy text message Olette had sent him the night before that described the “quirks” of her morning regulars.

🌻 sent: _Most of them aren’t too terrible, people usually just order a coffee or an americano, but there’s a few regulars that are super picky._

Hayner just groans and continues to rub uselessly at his eyes. He doesn’t understand why Olette’s so fussy over those sorts of customers. He generally just gives his best fake smile, tells them, “Of course,” and basically does the exact same thing he always did.

(What is a half sweet chai latte anyways?)

Although, this is why he’s generally on cash when there’s two of them in the cafe.

🌻 sent: _There’s an old man who wears suits that are too big for him and totally from the wrong era that will get on you for not smiling at him. But that might be because I’m a girl. Either way, he’s easy to deal with if you’re cheery and he will ask for free top ups. Stop him after two._

“After two?” Hayner grumbles in annoyance. That asshole would be lucky to get ONE!

🌻 sent: _There’s another old guy who—_

Hayner closes his phone at this. How is he supposed to tell all these old dudes apart? Tucking his phone into his pocket, he rubs his whole face rather aggressively, removing his hands only when he nearly face plants due to an abandoned and rather large fleece jacket sprawled across the sidewalk.

_Of course._

He has some time before opening to review all of Olette’s notes anyways, with thirty minutes being left to the opener to prepare the shop. While the hour sucks, having thirty less minutes to interact with customers while still being paid is always a bonus.

It’s been a while, so Hayner is slow in getting ready, drowsy and dazed as he puts out the muffins that will be on display. He nearly starts the coffee while the canister’s spout is still open, risking a miniature flood, but he catches it in time with a loud shout, waking his brain up faster than any caffeine. He’s still a few minutes late in unlocking the front door, but, not even the birds are ready to break the morning peace, much less any customers, so Hayner is free to retreat to the back to go over the rest of Olette’s “guidelines”.

🌻 sent: _There’s another old guy who will always tell you a bad joke when he greets you. He’s sweet besides that and always gets dark with an extra shot and will get you to add some milk and sugar for him as he can’t hold the utensils very well anymore._

Okay, Hayner muses, he can survive that. He loves bad jokes. Now he would have more to add to his own arsenal. His power will only grow.

🌻 sent: _If a customer in a weird hat shows up and asks for a double shot, extra long espresso, do green single 4 times, otherwise he complains. Don’t ask me how he knows, but he knows when it’s different._

Hayner swiftly changes his mind on the whole morning shift thing. Sorry, Olette, you’ll have to find someone else with a lot more patience than him.

🌻 sent: _There’s also a girl who always orders an extra hot americano. Just let the water from the coffee machine run a bit before adding it to the cup. She doesn’t know the difference._

“Extra hot… Extra hot americano?” Hayner repeats to himself in absolute disbelief. Did she expect them to alter the temperature of boiling water?! Hayner goes to continue reading, but there’s not much else and he hears the door chime, signaling his first “battle” of the day, so he decides he’ll have to just wing any other picky customer and try not to _die._

He makes it through five whole customers before deciding he’s done with customer service for the rest of his life.

“Where’s the other girl?” They all ask, disappointment and annoyance embedded deep in their voices.

“We’ve switched shifts for a bit.” Hayner explains as sweetly as he can. “She’ll be back in a few weeks.”

While he’s glad she seems to get along so well with everyone, something that doesn’t surprise him at all, it’s aggravating having to deal with the huffs he gets. As if it’s his own damn fault Olette got accepted into the program of her dreams. (Which Hayner would gladly take credit for if he could.)

Groaning quietly, Hayner lowers his head to the counter. None of the early customers had decided they wanted to stay after getting their coffee if it wasn’t _Olette_ serving them, so he’s free to make a minor fool of himself for a few minutes. He closes his eyes briefly, praying this is only a dream, when the door chimes again and Hayner’s pulling himself up with a subdued whine.

“Good morning,” he greets as cheerfully as he’s able too, becoming surprised when he takes in the new customer. He’s young, the first of the day, with bright blond hair, a fading black beanie, and a rather handsome face. He’s also rather built and Hayner finds himself a bit jealous. School and work had eaten up most of his exercise time and he’s still not over the fact he lost _obvious_ muscle mass after his second semester in university.

(“Hayner, you know, if you stopped playing all those video games and worked out instead, you wouldn’t be having this prob—“ “How can you be so mean to me right now, ‘Lettie?! I’m wasting away to practically nothing!”)

The man seems surprised to see him, even giving Hayner a quick once over, which causes Hayner to mentally begin preparing himself for the next line of questioning. Apparently _everyone_ was in love with Olette.

“You’re new.” Blond dude says as he approaches the counter, one eyebrow raised. His tone is more inquisitive than accusatory, which surprises Hayner. Not that it changes his response much.

“Not new. Different shift. Olette is busy so I’m working her mornings now. Nice to meet you.” Hayner rattles off, having perfected his speech already. The man seems to catch on to his annoyance, snickering as he leans forward onto the counter.

“Not a morning person?” He asks and Hayner feels himself relax a bit. The dude seems okay and Hayner’s happy to not have to force out any sort of overly happy customer service facade.

“Not really. But, at least most people don’t start ordering their bullshit half-sweet, extra hot, no foam lattes until about eight or nine.” And THAT’S when mid shift shows up so Hayner can unload almost all the coffee orders on that poor sucker. Unless it’s Naminé. She always takes too long as she gets over ambitious with her latte art.

Though, she did manage a dragon once and Hayner still smiles at the selfie he took pointing at it, his expression over-the-top proud, with Naminé’s flustered smile just barely visible.

“Oh?” The man says, a grin growing wide on his face. “Then I’ll have a dark chocolate mocha, extra hot, extra whip, with three shots of hazelnut.”

Hayner gapes at him, then drops his head to check the time beaming cheerfully from the debit machine before returning to stare at the man in absolute bafflement. It’s only 7:30 in the morning! What had he done to anger this man so early in the day? So much for not being a _dick._

“Of course, _sir_.” Hayner says stiffly, hoping to insult the man, but the asshole’s smirk only grows wider and Hayner is forced to hate his life even more. “Let me get right on that.”

The blond man ends up staying, though Hayner is quickly distracted by an influx of customers that keep him busy until he catches the other man walking out, giving him a quick wave and another smirk when he catches his eye. Hayner just scowls and that swiftly turns into a flurry of apologies when the woman he’s helping gets huffy over his “attitude”.

The rest of his morning shift is more of the same, a little busier than most of his closing shifts, but it helps pass the time. It definitely could have been _worse_ \- the Bad Joke dude tells him one of the most awful puns Hayner’s ever heard in his life and he _loves_ it - and Hayner’s nearly forgotten the blond menace when he receives a text from Olette later in the afternoon.

🌻 sent: _I’m off now. First day was amazing!! How was morning shift?_

Hayner quickly sends off a string of the OK emoji and goes to tell her that it went well when Smirky McSmirkSmirk’s face flashes in his mind and his fingers immediately begin to type out something else.

Hayner sent: _WHY DIDN’T YOU WANR ME ABT ASSHOLE MCFUCK FACE?_

🌻 sent _: ???? Who?_

Hayner sent: _The blond dick who comes in early!!_

🌻 sent: _Young guy?_

Hayner sent: _Yeah!_

🌻 sent: _He’s a dick?_

Hayner sent: _YEAH_

🌻 sent: _He’s always been nice to me. Just orders an americano and sits in the corner with a paper._

Hayner sent: _WHAT KIND OF YOUNG PERSON READS THE PAPER._

Hayner sent: _ALSO HE’S A PRICK HE ORDERED THE MOST COMPLICATED DRINK TODAY._

It really wasn’t, but Hayner is already in rant mode. Olette seems disinterested and the typing bubbles that indicate she is going to bless him with some sort of reply take several minutes to appear again.

🌻 sent: _Weird. He’s not like that with anyone else._

Hayner isn’t sure how he feels about that. Did Asshole McSmirky not like his cologne or something? He debates spending his evening sulking on his beanbag chair and playing Overwatch when he also remembers just how built the asshole was and decides that an angry day at the gym is exactly what he needs to feel better about his life.

Three hours and one almost full blown asthma attack later finds Hayner collapsed in his shower and half debating if Roxas would eventually _stop_ hammering on the bathroom door to let him nap in peace or not.

(The answer is a resounding _no_.)

He’s stuck with another morning shift the next day - four in a _row_ before he gets a three day break - and he’s already done with customers before he even walks in the door. Thankfully, Olette’s regulars seem to have accepted his presence, one even giving him a polite, “Good morning,” before asking for his coffee. There are other customers too, of course, that aren’t regulars, but not a great deal of them as few people really wanted to be out of their house before seven in the damn morning.

He’s in the middle of an overly peppy high schooler’s order when Smirky arrives. Hayner curses himself for jumping to attention when the other man walks in as it just causes the other to live up to Hayner’s generous nickname. Hayner doesn’t bother to greet him, turning instead to confirm the girl’s order. She’s ordered _decaf_ which is something Hayner doesn’t understand when it’s the middle of the day, much less when it’s this early in the morning. But her overly cheerful voice doesn’t hesitate to confirm her order so Hayner just bites back a groan and turns to make it.

(They have to grind and scoop the decaf separately which is really the only reason he dislikes it, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t bring up a long list of other reasons decaf is ridiculous.)

The other man keeps away for the whole transaction, even while Hayner makes the drink, which is usually when most customers push forward to try and demand his attention when he is _clearly_ busy. Smirky steps forward only when Hayner hands the drink off, going so far as to smile politely at the girl who stumbles by him, apparently flustered by Smirky’s attention. He _does_ have a nice smile which Hayner knows is something he would never admit to anyone.

“Extra hot, no foam latte?” The man asks after the girl has left and Hayner assumes he’s questioning the annoyed look Hayner’s sure is now present on his face.

“No, she ordered decaf. I hate decaf.” Hayner admits before he can stop himself. He quickly scolds himself internally. Now the bastard has _two_ things to lord over him!

“Oh? Then I’ll have a extra hot decaf vanilla latte to go.” He grins, absolutely pleased with himself. “Large. Plus a medium americano, but make it four shots.”

Hayner quietly grits his teeth before pulling out what must be a rather frightening customer service smile.

“Of _course._ Is the americano to go as well?” He asks, remembering how Olette had mentioned he usually got a mug and sat to read his stupid newspaper.

“That’s right, Chickenwuss.” The man confirms, grinning as he leans into the counter. Hayner feels his eyebrow twitch and the smile is getting harder to keep.

“I have a _name_.” He says stubbornly, still trying to keep some semblance of a calm facade.

“Yeah? Well, you’ve never shared it.” The man replies easily, apparently unbothered by insulting random strangers who were about to be in charge of some very hot liquid.

“It’s _Hayner_.”

“Seifer.” _Seifer_ replies, and he still seems so pleased with himself that Hayner feels his hand actually twitch into a fist.

“Well it’s just _lovely_ to meet you, Seifer. Let me get you those drinks.”

He skimps out on a shot in Seifer’s drink, and he’s sure the man notices, but Seifer still grins at him before leaving and says, “See you tomorrow, Chickenwuss.”

Hayner debates quitting right then and there.

This continues for the next couple of weeks, with Olette’s regulars slowly warming to him and Seifer eventually relaxing into what Olette named as his usual routine. Hayner’s still thrilled whenever his days off roll around, even if they keep getting commandeered by Roxas going, “Hey, it’s chore day.”

(It’s okay, Roxas lets him crash the other days, and one weekend they even get in some solid video game time with Pence and Olette for the first time in forever. Hayner feels his internal battery charge right up, although there’s a minor hitch when he goes on a twenty minute rant about Seifer, which only ends when Roxas bluntly goes, “It sounds like you have a crush on him.” which causes Hayner to slip and fall off the couch he had climbed onto. So much for a _best friend_.)

He’s on his way to work, the pale pinks of dawn only just thinking about waking up, for his third week of morning shifts and he’s surprised at how cheery he feels. His sleep schedule’s been forced to do a complete overhaul, but he’s been falling asleep before midnight lately, so he’s feeling pretty good.

It only takes two customers for this good mood to completely disappear.

The old man sets off eight different alarm bells in Hayner the moment he walks in, and the smile Hayner gives is only at half strength when he greets him. The man, however, lights right up.

“You’re new.” He says slowly as he eyes Hayner.

“Different shift.” Hayner says stiffly. “What can I get you?”

“I’d love for you to make me an americano. Large. You seem like you’d be really good at it.” The man tells him and Hayner feels a small scowl break through. What did that even _mean._

“Of course.” He replies, charging the man as quickly as he can before grabbing a to-go cup in hope the man would take it as a hint, and tucking himself in close to the espresso machine. He can _feel_ the man leering and he nearly misses three buttons on the machine in his irritation.

“How long will you be doing mornings?” The man asks, leaning onto the counter.

“A bit.” Hayner replies shortly, praying to the coffee gods to hurry everything up. He doesn’t bother to look at the man, even as he waits for the shots to run, and splashes some of the boiling liquid on himself when he hastily dumps the shots into the hot water. The man is either is too stupid to recognize Hayner’s disinterest, or simply doesn’t care, as his smile never wavers.

“I think I like having you here. I hope you stay.” He says, winking when Hayner hands over his drink. Hayner has to actually slam his hand under the counter to stop himself from decking the other man as he moves away.

Despite the uneasiness he feels, Hayner knows there is little he can do. The man hasn’t actually done anything to warrant him being kicked out besides make awkward and strange comments and this knowledge only strengthens the irritation rising in him. _This_ is what he hates most about customer service. _He_ ’s the one in potential danger but if he dared do anything about it, _he’d_ be the one to get in trouble. And, having lost three other jobs to brawls, he’s not sure what he’ll do if he loses a _fourth_.

Which is, you know, _great_.

Hayner forces himself to keep his gaze and attention away from the man who makes a nice little spot for himself in the far corner of the cafe, but he’s right where he could see Hayner no matter what _,_ so it’s a little difficult.

When the door chimes again Hayner swears he’s never leapt to the cash register faster in his life.

“Seifer!” He chirps brightly as soon as he recognizes him. “Good morning! How are you?”

Seifer, for his part, looks absolutely baffled at the attention, cocking one brow up as he approaches the counter with a hesitant, “Fine…”

“That’s great!” Hayner replies, refusing to let go of his overly cheerful tone. It’s mostly genuine, he’s thrilled that’s it’s one of the regulars and not some one-off customer who may or may not stay, leaving Hayner to deal with Creepy McFuck all on his own.

However, Hayner recalls with a small stab of panic, Seifer can be back on forth on whether he stays, so Hayner quickly decides to take some drastic measures. Leaning onto his arms, pressing harder into the counter than necessary, he asks, “Did you watch the video I mentioned yesterday?”

Seifer knows something is off, Hayner can tell, but he seems willing to play along, replying with a slow, “No... Forgot what it was called.”

“What!” Hayner cries, playfully teasing him, “Here, let me show you. It's really good!”

He leans forward, swiping Seifer’s phone before the man has a chance to tuck it away, pausing only to demand the passcode which Seifer plugs in after a moment’s hesitation. In seconds Hayner is pulling up a message box and typing out: _hte old dude sitting here is creepy af please just roll with this until the dude leaves or another regular shows up i will make whatever bullshit drink you want for FREE._

Hayner’s eyes flicker up to catch Seifer’s and he can see the other has been keeping up, a small frown marring his face and when he seems to finish the message he turns to Hayner, giving him a weird look. Hayner quietly groans before quickly typing _im alreadyon thin ice cause I nearly decked this kther dude who was being creepy to a coworker i cant punch anyone els e!_ into the message box as well. (Seifer is apparently _too cool_ for autocorrect but Hayner doesn’t bother to fix his mistakes.)

Seifer straight up laughs at this before pressing in to slide his hand around his phone and Hayner’s hand. Hayner panics for a second, thinking he’s not going to play along, but then  Seifer smirks and goes, “Having trouble finding Youtube, Chickenwuss?”

Hayner feels the knot in his stomach relax as he continues to watch Seifer’s face, a relieved laugh sounding from him before he gives a shy grin and replies, “It’s not my fault. You have like, three hundred apps on here. How am I supposed to find anything?”

He ends up showing Seifer a cool Struggle match he found one bored night of scrolling. It’s one _he_ still loves though the rest of his friends are tired of it, so it’s fun being able to show it to someone new for the first time. He discovers Seifer was a Struggler himself and Hayner is immediately dedicated to challenging him at some point. Hayner may not have been captain, but he’s _sure_ he could beat Seifer’s smug ass. Seifer laughs at this declaration and gives Hayner a once over that only slightly sways Hayner’s resolution.

“Sure you could, Chickenwuss.”

Hayner pretends the expression on his face isn’t a pout when he replies, “You know, you asked for my name. You could at least _use_ it.”

Seifer grins, but he’s interrupted by a new customer and unable to give any sort of response. Seifer leaves the front counter as the other approaches, and Hayner feels a pang of regret. He was having fun.

The customer is efficient, smiling as she quickly, and sleepily, asks for a medium latte. Hayner isn’t even annoyed she asks for it extra hot, though that’s aided by her shy, “I never have time to drink it until I get to work…”

Hayner just laughs and tells her it isn’t a problem at all.

He’s just as efficient in making her drink and she wishes him a good day as she leaves, which Hayner parrots back at her before turning to tidy the espresso area, not having much else to do when the cafe is nearly empty.

“Oi! Chickenwuss!” Seifer calls and Hayner is only slightly annoyed that he actually turns. Seifer’s standing near the back of the cafe, next to the counter the workers used for grinding customer’s coffee bean orders, and for resting when the cafe is quiet. “Come here, I have a video to show you.”

“It’s _Hayner._ ” Hayner says, but he’s grinning as he walks back. Seifer gives him another smirk.

“Yeah, whatever, Blondie.”

They continue like this for most of the morning, Hayner only leaving when another customer arrives or to tidy up. (And once to actually get Seifer’s promised americano.) Eventually the creeper gets annoyed at this and leaves, but he’s sure to approach the counter once more to hand Hayner his stupid cup and say, “Recycling.”

Hayner grunts out some sort of confirmation before grabbing it, and the man takes that moment to say, “I’ll see you tomorrow, _Hayner._ ”

Hayner’s sure he makes some sort of face, but a customer popping up at the counter, chirping for a refill manages to stop him from making too much of an ass of himself.

“Already?” Hayner asks as he moves to them. The girl grins at him and out of the corner of his eye Hayner can see the man huff before finally making his way out of the cafe and into the sunlit air.

“Just one of those days!” The customer tells him, entirely too cheery for the hour. She’s made herself a nice, little nest in one of the two comfy chairs the cafe had and part of Hayner admires her devotion to… Whatever it was she was doing. Seeing as she had already downed an entire cup coffee in, what, fifteen minutes? He almost compliments her, but then she’s leaning in, and whispering conspiratorially, “Don’t worry, I won’t distract you from your boyfriend for long.”

Hayner flushes and quickly hisses back, scandalized, “He’s not my boyfriend! I am a professional! I wouldn’t flirt at work.”

“Uh-huh.” The girl hums, her grin growing. Hayner quickly snatches the cup she’s brought back for him and grumbles, “If you’re not careful, I’ll charge you for a whole new cup.”

“Gotta do what you gotta do!” She cheers and Hayner sincerely wonders what else she’s had with her coffee. She doesn’t speak anymore when Hayner turns to refill her cup, not bothering to ask for the blend. Figuring she’s here for the caffeine and the caffeine only.

(She makes no argument.)

After a polite thank you, she’s blowing on her drink and making her way to the coffee bar in order to transform her bean water into something _suitable_. Hayner slows his steps when he makes his way back to Seifer, his face still feeling the heat, but Seifer’s pocketing his phone, and making moves that seem to indicate he’s also about to leave.

“You going?” Hayner asks, praying that the other can’t hear the disappointment in Hayner’s voice that Hayner’s sure is evident.

Seifer smiles, almost fond, as he gives a loose shrug and says, “I have to get to work. Creeper is gone, right?”

It’s true, but Hayner’s mind is a still abuzz with all the stories he wants to tell Seifer and all the things he wants to ask. Despite being a total asshole, they have a lot in common and Hayner would admit to wanting to get to know the man better.

“True enough,” Hayner says anyways, feigning a relaxed expression. “Thank for the help.”

“Don’t worry about it. And you can relax,” Seifer starts, leaning forward again, grinning as he  presses farther into Hayner’s personal space than Hayner is expecting. “I’ll be sure to keep you safe tomorrow too.”

“S-sure.” Hayner stutters, unable to form any other response. This, of course, is when Seifer’s trademark smirk returns and he actually reaches out to ruffle Hayner’s hair, leaving him to feel a bit like a child. “See you tomorrow, Chickenwuss.”

(Hayner refuses to admit to the warmth that blooms in his chest at this statement. Despite the horrendous nickname.)

When the afternoon hour arrives, it dulls the sky to a pale grey, with rain threatening to move in. Hayner lets out a small curse as he exits work, and makes sure to hasten his steps to where he promised to meet Olette. She’s all smiles as soon as she sees him and full of energy, eager to share her anecdotes from school. Hayner is more than pleased to listen to them, oddly happy to keep his meeting with Seifer secret in his heart.

“How’s work going?” She asks after finishing up her final story, tucking her arms in as she brings her tea to her lips. “Seifer still being a pain?”

Hayner gives an easy shrug, playing with the wrapper his food had come in. Olette had gotten off later than him so they ended up meeting at a bistro closer to her classes. Mostly because Hayner _refuses_ to go to other cafes when he gets all the same shit at his for free _._

“It’s going.” He says eventually, tossing the wrapper onto the table between them. “Seifer is Seifer, not much has changed. Had to deal with a creeper this morning though which sucked.”

“Please tell me you didn’t fight him.” Olette says immediately, lowering her tea with a concerned but slightly exasperated frown. Hayner huffs at her, offended.

“I have _some_ self-restraint, thank you, ‘Lettie.” Besides, Seifer was there and made sure asshole mcfucky couldn’t do anything, so it was fine. “He just said weird shit and then hung out in a corner like some fucking gremlin.”

“The worst. And you were alone?” At Hayner’s nod she gives him a much more sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, that really sucks. Nothing happened though, right?”

“No, and it should be fine. If he does anything too weird I’ll tell management.”

Hayner knows he probably won’t, but there’s a relieved smile that brightens Olette’s face when he assures her of this that’s all he was really looking for.

“Good. Now, did you hear what Rikku did on _her_ last shift…?”

They continue to talk for a couple hours, only leaving when one of the workers, who’s a friend of theirs, playfully shooes them away, accusing them of hogging the best seat in the house. It’s true, but Hayner’s still so theatrically offended at such a claim, that he earns them both a small shove out the door.

They’re laughing as they walk into the rain now darkening the alleyways and even after Olette has bid him goodbye and he’s turning to make his own way home, a warmth persists in his chest, one he knows he won’t be admitting to anyone anytime soon.

The next morning finds Hayner waking with anxiety overruling the previous warmth in his stomach, stemming from a half remembered dream that leaves him feeling off and causing him to properly drag himself out of bed several minutes late, losing his chance for a quick shower. He hates the self consciousness that haunts his body and choices for the morning, and eventually he angrily grabs the most covering long sleeve he owns, his brain suddenly stuck on the leer the man had given him the day before.

He knows he shouldn’t be as bothered by the asshole as he is, but the thought of having to deal with the man again puts a damper on an already sour mood. There’s the silver lining of Seifer at least offering to be a sort of buffer, but Hayner still worries about how long it’ll be between their arrivals.

His morning walk is relatively uneventful, the gray skies still blocking the sun, which scares off everyone but the early morning joggers who are more than happy to take advantage of the cool air. Hayner’s just settling onto his stool with his own morning coffee, having breezed through opening and organizing the miscellaneous aspects of the shop, when Seifer walks in.

“You’re here!” Hayner exclaims, making no effort to hide his surprise at seeing Seifer _this_ early.

“I told you I’d keep you safe, didn’t I?” Seifer reponds easily, falling against the counter like he belonged there. Hayner grins at this, absolutely delighted.

“I guess you did. You’re a bit early though, Creeper isn’t here yet.”

“That’s fine.” Seifer shrugs. “I’m up early anyways.”

“What kind of person is up before 7 in the morning?” Hayner has to ask, eyeing the other with mock suspicion. Seifer doesn’t even seem drowsy, despite his assumed lack of caffeine. Hayner’s sure he looks half dead with the circles around his eyes and the way he’s clinging to his cup like a goblin.

“Grown ups.” Seifer smirks back, wasting no time in insulting him.

“Well, ex _cuse_ me for being a child.” Hayner huffs into his coffee, eyes falling half closed.

“Do I get another free coffee this morning?” Seifer asks, stealing his attention back. Hayner gives a thoughtful hum and takes his time in responding.

“If you’re nice to me I’ll think about it.”

“Good thing I brought cash then.”

Hayner rolls his eyes, and, without looking, swings out his right hand. When he makes contact with something oddly soft, Seifer lets out an offended shout.

“Watch it, Chickenwuss!” Seifer threatens, but Hayner’s too busy laughing to hear him properly.

The morning after that is quiet, with hardly enough customers to even really justify being open this early. When the creeper from the previous morning does show, he stalls at the front door and, upon seeing Seifer glare him down, is rather stilted in ordering his drink. He doesn’t stay this time round, leaving Hayner plenty of time to talk with Seifer about all the conversations they had started the day before.

They mostly discuss Struggle, but eventually move into small childhood stories and even school. Hayner briefly mentions his university and there’s a stillness that takes over Seifer’s body before he’s almost forcibly shrugging and looking down the cafe as he explains that he didn’t go to university, opting to start work right away instead. He claims that it’s due to college never interesting him, but he continues to keep his gaze away from Hayner and there’s _something_ in his tone that tells Hayner there’s more to the story.

However, Hayner also knows Seifer isn’t about to open up to him in the middle of a cafe at seven forty five in the morning, so he moves to reassure the other man that he really isn’t missing out on much.

“You’re either crying about school or crying about the fact summers over, man. It’s not worth it. Besides, it’s kind of a waste of time to go to school if you don’t have a real plan degree wise. In my opinion at least.”

Seifer gives him a grateful smile before the teasing look is back and he’s flicking Hayner’s forehead.

“Are you just saying that because you have no idea what you want your major to be and you’re freaking out about it?”

“They want me to decide by next semester and I’m dying, Seifer. Truly. I’m genuinely debating running away and living my life out in a bog with nothing to eat but moss.”

“You’d get bored of that within the day and come back.”

Hayner can’t argue with that, so he changes the subject.

“Did you know I nearly high jump kicked a dude who turned out to be one my required classes’ teachers? I thought he was harassing one of my friends but he was just reminding them they owed him a paper.”

It’s a story that definitely comes out of left field, but one he’s reminded of when a man passing by the front of the store reminds him of said teacher. It’s also an excellent mood changer. Glancing over at Seifer, Hayner sees a shocked look take over his face before he’s erupting into a full bodied laugh, leaning into the counter to steady himself. Hayner responds with a wide grin of his own.

“You’re fucking something else, Chickenwuss.” Seifer says when he manages to steady himself and Hayner actually manages a wink before he’s being hailed by a new customer, which causes him to completely miss the wide eyed blush that is Seifer’s expression for the next minute and a half.

(A truly unfortunate loss.)

The morning finally picks up after this and Hayner’s unable to maintain any more real conversations. It’s also not long before mid shift is due to arrive and Seifer’s being called to work.

“See you, Seifer!” Hayner says as the man leaves, not bothering to hide the warmth he feels. Seifer returns it, briefly, half turning to hide the small blush Hayner just barely catches spreading across his cheeks.

“See you, Hayner.” Hayner gives a small gasp and when Seifer turns back to him, Hayner has his hand over his heart and is wearing an expression of melodramatic love and affection.

“You used my _name_!”

Seifer just rolls his eyes.

“Good _bye_ , you lamer.”

Midshift ends up walking into this scene, after nearly running into Seifer at the door, and when they get inside, they practically zoom to Hayner’s side, a hundred questions each trying to make their way out first. Hayner ignores them all, hiding any answer with a secretive grin.

(This only causes Rikku to try and shake them out of him and for him to spill an entire cup of coffee on both them and the floor. This is, of course, when their manager surprises them with a visit and gives them a five minute scolding.)

(Both refuse to accept any responsibility.)

As the week continues, the Creeper doesn’t reappear, but Seifer stays at Hayner’s counter in lieu of his usual routine anyways. Hayner would tease him for it, but every time he tries, Seifer manages to spin it back on him, causing Hayner to become embarrassed instead.

Besides, he’ll be back to closing soon enough. He might as well enjoy this odd found friendship while it lasts.

“Oi! Chickenwuss!”

Although, he _really_ needs to sway Seifer away from his horrendous nickname choices.

It’s Hayner’s last morning shift, hopefully _forever_ , and Pence is seven minutes into his ten minute explanation that Hayner hasn’t understood a word of since Pence greeted him with, “Good morning!”

He’s caught up with some new urban legend making the rounds at their school. One that Hayner hadn’t bothered paying any attention to. While the legends surrounding their town had been fun to investigate as kids, after he and the others debunked nearly every _single_ one, the magic had died. Especially when their investigation turned up some rather mundane and boring explanations.

(Something Roxas still frowns at.)

However, despite the rest of their group moving on, Pence’s love for sleuthing had only been ignited by the whole adventure, leaving him stuck to his screen many a hangout, researching all sorts of mysteries that plagued their town. The newest one, apparently, being about some lost ghost.

“And they say that you can still _see_ her, wandering around at exactly 4:59 in the morning!” Pence says in an excited rush. Hayner just makes a vague, “Uh-huh” sound that seems to be enough to keep his friend going onto his next section. He also hears the door chime and his eyes flicker over to it, and when he recognizes the customer, he gives a short, “Morning Seifer.”

Hayner doesn’t catch it, but there’s a brief look of suspicion that narrows Seifer’s eyes when he notices Pence, but this look is hidden but an almost arrogant calm as the man approaches the counter. Pence only gives Seifer a small head nod, before moving closer to the counter, and Hayner, and finally wrapping up his request.

“So, anyways, I was hoping you’d come with me tomorrow to go look for her!” He asks, and Hayner almost wants to take his friend’s hands in his own for how naive the poor man is sounding.

“Pence.” Hayner starts, sounding so serious he intrigues both men at his counter. “I love you. But if you think I’m going to wake up any time before _noon_ on my day off tomorrow, you are stupider than I ever thought you were.”

Seifer barks out a laugh at this, his head tilting back while Pence flounders, settling into an annoyed pout.

“Oh, come on, Hayner-!” He tries, but Hayner waves his hand in front of him, waving the request off.

“Nuh uh. Not happening. Seifer, what do you want?”

Seifer manages to get in his order of a medium americano before Pence is butting in again, with more information on the legend. Hayner knows he’s hoping to entice him into joining him with it, but Hayner couldn’t care less about waking up at whatever time Pence had planned when he could be waking up at 2pm and not moving from his bed all day.

Hayner’s punching in Seifer’s order when the man pipes in, “I’ve heard about that legend.”

Both Hayner and Pence freeze, each turning to him with very different expressions. (Hayner is sure he’s never seen Pence more in awe of someone in his life.)

“See, Hayner!” Pence beams. “I told you it was real!”

Hayner just rolls his eyes.

“Well, there you go. You and Seifer can go on a date together.”

Seifer snorts at this but Pence breaks in with a small whine before he can voice any complaints about Hayner’s set up, “Come on, Hayner! I’ll buy you breakfast.”

Hayner simply turns to begin making Seifer’s drink, pointedly ignoring his friend’s pleading face. Eventually, Pence gives up, letting out a loud and extended sigh before mumbling in absolute defeat, “And I’ll go to the Struggle tournament with you.”

The switch is immediate and Seifer actually recoils slightly at the bright and blinding grin that takes over Hayner’s face when he spins back to face them and say, “What time did you say you wanted to meet?”

Pence fills him in, and also promises to text him all this information, while Hayner sets to work on actually making Seifer’s drink. Once Hayner nods in confirmation, and Pence begins to agonize over “losing”, Seifer interrupts, asking, with a perturbed frown, “What tournament?”

“There’s some district wide Struggle tournament that’s Hayner’s interested in,” Pence explains, allowing Hayner to continue with his job. “They hold one every year. Hayner got tickets, but our friend, Roxas, is busy, and he usually goes with him so…”

“You’re stuck going instead?” Seifer confirms, arms crossed as he leans his hip into the counter. Hayner is sure Pence is giving some pathetic look of ‘save me’ so he butts in quickly.

“He’s not _stuck._ You used to love Struggle, Pence!”

“Only when you were competing! Watching people I don’t know is boring.”

“That’s just cause you don’t know who to bet on.” Hayner accuses, remembering the drama Pence and Olette would cause with their gambling tirades. They got half the town in on one once before, but then the tournaments official organizers got wind of it and shut it down. The look on their faces when they realized the “masterminds” of a nearly 5000 munny pot prize was a pair of sixteen year olds had been _hilarious._

“That’s not it!” Pence cries out, perhaps trying to defend his image in front of Seifer. Hayner gives him a look of _yeah sure_ before the espresso shots finish and he’s handing Seifer his cup.

“Come on, it’ll be great! Some newcomer, Sora or something weird like that, has been _wrecking_ all his opponents in the practice matches! He might even take out Setzer!” One of Hayner’s early morning rituals before dragging himself out of bed is to catch up on all the latest Struggle news. This kid, Sora, is roughly his age and Hayner dreams of being able to try a match with him. His style is a bit odd, and his personality puts light bulbs to shame, but he’s a powerhouse and Hayner genuinely hopes the kid wins the whole thing. Although, he does forget that not all his friends are as invested as he is. Demonstrated by the look of absolute disinterest Pence continues to wear. “You’ll have fun. Stop whining, Pence. And besides, it’s not like _I’m_ waking you up at, fuck, what did you say? Three?”

“Four! And I’m buying you breakfast.” Pence reminds him, as if this makes his request less extravagant.

“I don’t wake up at four for work, Pence. Breakfast is the least you can do.”

“Is anywhere even open at four for breakfast?” Seifer asks, pointing out a rather large flaw in their plan. Pence blanches when Hayner whips over to face him.

“I’ll buy you breakfast… after?” Pence offers weakly. When Hayner’s eye continue to narrow, he throws his hands up in a pleading motion. “Please, Hayner! I don’t want to go alone!”

Hayner just sighs. He spoils his friends, truly.

“You’re lucky I’m so generous.”

He’s pretty sure he hears both Seifer _and_ Pence snort at that, but he’s too distracted by a new customer walking in to bother reacting to it. After the customer gets their order, and Pence has also bid him goodbye, Seifer catches his gaze and hails him back to their usual spot.

“Are you seriously going to wake up for that tomorrow?” Seifer seems baffled, and almost a bit irritated, but Hayner brushes it off with a shrug.

“It’s not the worst thing I’ve done for my friends. Although, I’ll probably be regretting it when I have to roll out of bed before the damn sun tomorrow.” Hayner reminds himself to slam at least one door to bother Roxas seeing as he had the excuse of needing to study, which was the only reason he was home free for this investigation. “I don’t mind that much. It might be fun. And I really didn’t want to go alone to the tournament, it’s never as good by yourself.”

“And you had no one else to ask?” The irritated edge to Seifer’ voice is still there but Hayner still can’t quite understand where it’s coming from. It’s not like he could have asked _Seifer_. That would have been a _date_. So he shakes his head.

“No, like Pence said, our friend Roxas is busy with a school project and he’s the only one who’s actually willing to go do Struggle stuff with me since we both did it a lot as kids.” The good old days, really. “Besides, if I actually see a ghost, Roxas will never be able to let it go and it’ll be _great._ ”

Seifer continues to eye him, still frustrated, but he seems to give up on whatever he’s thinking about and shakes his head instead.

“Where are you even meeting again? The legend wasn’t very concrete on where she actually shows up.”

“Uhh..” Hayner pauses briefly to try and remember what Pence had told him not even ten minutes ago. “The fourth entrance? I think? Somewhere around there. At four fifteen, he said.”

“You two have fun with that.” Seifer replies, almost bored, even though he had been the one to ask. He pushes away from the counter and moves for the entrance.

“Huh? Are you leaving already?” He just _got_ here. Besides, it’s Hayner’s last day and he was hoping to at least find some way to contact him again. Seifer just shrugs, dismissive, and Hayner doesn’t bother hiding his puzzled, and maybe a little pouty, frown.

“Yeah. I do have work, you know.” Seifer replies as he approaches the door.

“What do you even _do?_ ” Hayner asks, mirroring Seifer’s own annoyed tone. He’s not sure what’s caused Seifer to revert to their earlier banter, but he’s not about to deal with it happily.

“Stuff.”

“Thanks.” Hayner scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Bye then.”

He tries to hint at the fact he won’t be here next week, but Seifer doesn’t even bother replying, only giving Hayner a half hearted wave as he leaves.

Hayner swears he’s not in a bad mood when mid-shift arrives and edges around the small bubble Hayner had apparently created for himself, but when he accidentally spills half a cup of medium roast down his front and shouts three different banned curses, he’s not surprised when they don’t believe him.

He ends up getting forced off work early, mid-shift politely, but blunting, tell him he was being a pain in the ass and no fun to deal with, so his mood isn’t exactly cheery when he walks into his apartment.

Roxas makes short work of that, however, throwing Hayner into a headlock when he doesn’t bother to even greet his “Bestest and Greatest roommate” that erupts into an all out play fight, exhausting, and cheering Hayner enough to quietly admit his troubles with Seifer that morning.

The two of them are sprawled flat on their back on their living room floor, and after several minutes of quiet contemplation, Roxas gives a thoughtful hum.

“I don’t think he’s mad _at_ you. I think he’s just like… mad. I’m sure he’ll get over it. And who knows, maybe you’ll see him next time you cover a morning shift. It’s not like you’re leaving forever.”

It’s not a lot, in way of comfort, but it’s enough for Hayner, and when he tilts his head over enough to catch Roxas’ eyes, the grin he gives him is probably the most genuine of the day.

“Thanks, Rox.”

As expected, by Hayner at least, Hayner is a full eight minutes late for the Ghost Hunt, his bed not wanting to let him go. A tragic separation, really.

When he finally arrives at the designated meeting spot, he notices _two_ figures leaning against the tram way entrance, and he quickly rubs at his eyes to make sure he’s not already seeing a ghost.

“Hello?” He says, slow and dumb, as he couldn’t even count himself as _awake_. Both figures turn to him and Pence is throwing himself at him at almost record speed.

“There you are! I was beginning to think you missed your alarm!”

“Put my phone.. Across my room so I wouldn’t. Why is Seifer here?” Hayner turns to face the man properly when he asks, eyes almost squinted shut in their confusion. Part of him isn’t really sure the man is even there, perhaps some sort of weird figment of his imagination, but when Pence gives a quiet, “Well…” which seems to indicate Seifer _was_ actually there, the man explains himself.

“Figured I’d crash your little date and find out the legitimacy of the legend myself.” Seifer smirks, already cocky and condescending at this hour. It’s almost impressive, really, having this much attitude this early in the day. But it doesn’t make it any less annoying, so Hayner just mutters, “Whatever, weirdo.” before turning to Pence to ask for the plan.

“Here!” Pence chirps, handing him some sort of remote looking device. “Hold onto this. It responds to changes in the environment, so if there’s anything paranormal around, it’ll set the device off. We’re going to move through the tunnels, and when we hear it beep, we pull out our cameras and get us a picture of a ghost!”

Pence’s excitement about the whole thing is almost contagious, but Hayner’s still too out of it to really catch onto any other feelings besides “Question mark?”. He nods in understanding anyways, glad it was at least _easy_ , and goes to inspect the tiny device as Pence awkwardly shuffles his feet at peeks up at Seifer, “I, uh, didn’t know anyone else would come so I only have two…”

Seifer shrugs, unbothered.

“It’s fine, I’ll just stick with Blondie here.”

Hayner shoots him a quick glare and he gets a smirk in return. Pence only laughs, relieved, and says, “Great! Then let’s go!”

As they move out, Seifer moves in close, almost hip checking Hayner when he demands to take a look at the device Pence had given him. Hayner gives it up with only mild complaining, and he swears he hears Pence mumble, “Can’t believe I have to third wheel my own outing.” but the fog claiming his brain is still addling most of his senses, so he can’t be sure. Seifer also doesn’t react, so Hayner figures he’s just hearing things.

A rather worrying concept, really.

The tramways are eerily quiet and Hayner can feel a prickle of something crawl up his spine as they slowly and methodically make their way through them. He tries to brush it off, the tunnels practically being a second home to every citizen of Twilight Town, but there’s something unnatural about being in them so early.

He glances over at both Pence and Seifer to see if they’re feeling the same way, but Pence is still caught up in the excitement of it all, completely focused on his own device, only sparing a glance up when it makes a vague beeping sound or if he happens to get too close to a wall. Seifer, on the other hand, inspects the tramways with complete disinterest, as if he was walking to work, or working out some sort of math problem that stumped him the night before on his way to school. Neither seem particularly bothered, so Hayner tries to dismiss the feeling with a roll of his shoulders, which catches Seifer’s attention.

“You all right?” He asks, hands in his pockets, with a gaze that’s almost concerned.

“I’m fine,” Hayner lies awkwardly, “Just a little tired.”

“Hey, Hayner,” Pence calls from his spot several steps ahead of the other two. They both perk up, wondering if he’s found something, when Pence just turns to face them, a curious expression on his face. “Why didn’t you ask Seifer to go to the tournament with you? You said he likes it. Struggle, I mean.”

Hayner can _feel_ the smugness now beginning to radiate off of Seifer as Hayner tries to mentally curse Pence into the grave.

“Aw, you talk about me? That’s sweet.” Seifer says, and it takes a lot of willpower not to punch the self-satisfied look off his face.

Hayner only vaguely remembers discussing these sorts of things with Pence, and later realizes Roxas must have said something about it to him the night before, but for now he’s too flustered to try and deny it so he tries to play it off.

“I complain about a lot of my customers, thank you very much.” Hayner huffs, hoping to hide the embarrassment that sparks from Pence’s _betrayal_. “And I dunno. Seifer, do you wanna go to the tournament with me since Pence won’t stop complaining about it?”

Pence gets a quick, “Hey!” in while Seifer lets out a casual hum, slowly contemplating the idea.

“I’ll see if I can fit it in.”

Hayner rolls his eyes at him.

“I’m so very grateful.” Hayner drawls, and tries to pull away from the man, too bothered and annoyed to continue dealing with him. But, then his own device lets out a long beep and Seifer is tossing one arm over his shoulder and pulling him back in so he can “see”.

The sound vanishes as soon as it appears, leaving them all disappointed, and Pence decides it may be better for them to split up to cover more ground.

“Don’t forget to keep your phone cameras on so you can get pictures!” He calls out behind him, though he’s still focused forward as he vanishes into the farther part of the tunnels. The eerie feeling is still cold on Hayner’s skin, so he’s actually grateful for Seifer’s presence.

Lifting the device, in some strange belief it might aid their search, Hayner goes to continue with their investigation, when suddenly Seifer’s grabbing his arm and crowding him into one of the nearby walls.

Hayner lifts his head and finds Seifer’s face to be a lot closer than it reasonably should be. Seifer is, unfortunately, very handsome and seeing it up close only makes the weird flip flops Hayner’s been feeling as of late _worse_ , so all he can do is try and stumble over some sort of interrogation. He’s managed to fumble half a word when Seifer beats him to the punch.

“How come it took the other lamer to finally get you to ask me out?” He asks, voice low, but with a rumble of amusement.

Hayner’s brain begins to short circuit a bit.

“Okay, first of all, don’t insult my friends and, second of all, ask you out... _What_?”

“You never thought to ask me to the tournament? I’m hurt, Chickenwuss, truly.”

Hayner can feel the warmth of Seifer’s breath on his face and it’s throwing off Hayner’s already pathetic ability to lie so he just weakly tries to wiggle away, his back scraping against the cool concrete of the alleyway walls.

“I didn’t think you’d want to go with me…?” He offers slowly, genuinely baffled. He honestly hadn’t thought Seifer would have agreed, figuring it’d be, well, too close to a date to seem casual and not awkward.

“You’re pretty fucking clueless, you know that?” Seifer tells him but before Hayner can argue Seifer is closing the minute amount of distance still separating them, and kissing him silent. It’s fine, as Hayner’s brain had been stuttering too much to manage any words anyways.

Hayner’s too shocked to respond immediately - this really, really, _really_ isn’t how he was expecting his morning to go - but when Seifer pulls back a touch, perhaps worried he’d mixed up some signals, Hayner’s catching up to the situation and immediately balling his hands in the other’s shirt collar and pulling him back in, quickly easing any fears.

After a couple seconds, Seifer breaks this second kiss with a relieved laugh, though he hides his fondness with his usual arrogance.

“Fucking took you long enough.” He whispers softly against Hayner’s lips. Hayner’s sure when he goes to look back on their interactions, several things will become quite clear, but for now he’s annoyed with Seifer wasting precious time talking when they could be having much more fun.

“Shut up.” He grumbles, throwing his arms around the other’s neck to bring him in again. Seifer goes easy, and Hayner can still feel the grin the other is wearing as he moves his hand down to Hayner’s hip, holding him close.

They’re completely distracted by each other, and time soon slips away from them. They’re forcibly reminded of their original mission when Pence walks in on them roughly ten minutes later and gives a surprised shout.

“You guys!” Pence whines, dropping his own camera as Seifer and Hayner quickly separate. “You’re supposed to be looking for the ghost! Make out _afterwards_!”

Hayner laughs, awkward and shy, and pulls back from Seifer as much as the other allows him.

“Sorry Pence!” He says, meaning it genuinely. He hadn’t meant to get caught up _or_ caught like this.

“It’s fine,” his friend sighs, looking forlornly at his watch and then his own camera. “It’s already 5:05 so I don’t think we’re going to see her today anyways.”

“Does that mean we can go get breakfast now?” Hayner grins as he and Seifer walk up to meet Pence, who’s still looking dejected.

“What?!” He cries out, immediately straightening up. “Come on, Hayner! Get Seifer to buy it for you!”

“Seifer isn’t the one who dragged me out at 4:30 in the morning!” Hayner shouts back, scandalized that Pence would try and shirk his own promise.

“Yeah, but, if you think about it, because of me, you two finally got together so _really_ -” Pence’s explanation is cut off suddenly by Hayner leaping forward to throw him into a weak headlock, with several words of disagreement all trying to come out at once.

Behind them, Seifer shakes his head.

“Oi, oi! Calm down, both of you. _I’ll_ buy breakfast just so you’ll stop bitching, all right?”

“All right!” Pence cheers from his spot in Hayner’s arms. Hayner huffs, still feeling a bit betrayed, but he releases Pence all the same and allows him to move forward with Seifer to discuss their potential breakfast spots. As he goes to join them, tucking the device given to him by Pence in his pocket, he hears it give a muted beep, at the same time he feels all the hairs on the back of his neck prick up.

Moving slowly, Hayner turns his gaze back, something in his body locating the “danger” behind him, and his breath catches in his throat when a willowy woman, dressed completely in white, slowly makes her way across the open section of the tunnel. She’s supernaturally quiet, her footsteps making no sound, despite the heavy look to her shoes and the cloak dragging across the ground. When she’s half way across, she turns her own head to meet Hayner’s gaze straight on.

His breathing stops.

After what seems like an eternity, she turns back, and continues on her way, slowly fading into the wall in front of her.

Everything returns to Hayner in a rush and he actually gasps when his friend’s voices begin to filter back into his head. The eerie feeling that had been plaguing him since they arrived is also gone, freeing up his body. He can hear a slightly worried tone in Pence’s voice when he calls back for him, realizing he was missing, and Hayner moves to join them swiftly, not wanting to be left behind again.

He doesn’t mention the encounter, brushing everything off with a, “Just thought I heard something.” and as they reach the entrance, the feeling from before gently begins to prick at his skin again, only this time he doesn’t turn around.

One ghost is enough for him.

* * *

  

“So, what are you guys gonna do now that Hayner’s going back to closing shifts?” Pence asks before taking a bite of his hashbrown. The only place actually open is the only fast food joint Twilight Town has and Hayner’s already teased Seifer about his high class taste twice. But, it’s still food, and Hayner’s still starving.

“I’m not sure. You going to survive without your favourite customer?” Seifer smirks, turning to Hayner whose breakfast sandwich is half way in his mouth at the time. Rolling his eyes, Hayner takes a bit, chews a bit, before talking with his mouth full. Something that earns him a disgusted look from Seifer.

“You’re not even _close_ to being my favourite customer.” That was Bad Joke dude and the buff gym bro who came in semi frequently and would only slowly mutter, “Uhhh… One coffee to go… Ya know?” He became Hayner’s favourite after Hayner nodded, very reverently, and said, “Yes, I do know.” which had earned him a loud laugh and a clap on the shoulder.

Sometimes the gym bro will pass by the cafe, only to lean in the front door and go, “Hey! Coffee, ya know!” to the absolute confusion of any customer inside and to Hayner’s absolute delight. Hayner wonders if gym bro misses him too.

“Besides,” Hayner starts after swallowing his food. “If Seifer _finally_ manages to work up the courage to give me his number, we’ll be able to meet up outside of work and there won’t be a problem.”

Hayner doesn’t even have to look at Seifer to know the man is rolling his eyes beside him.

“I was waiting for you to catch on and to ask me for it.” He says, taking a drink of his coffee. Both Hayner and Pence turn to him with a look of pity.

“That was dumb.” Pence says quickly.

“Yeah.” Hayner agrees immediately, hoping his friend is going to continue berating Seifer. Shouldn’t Seifer be the one asking for _Hayner’s_ number?

“Hayner is as dense as a bag of bricks. You would have been waiting forever.” Hayner’s not rewarded, and he’s turning to Pence with a look of utmost betrayal as his friend continues. “You gotta be super upfront with him.”

Hayner doesn’t have much in the way of argument, so he’s forced into silence while Seifer laughs.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Seifer says, turning to Hayner with a smirk and tossing one of his arms over the back of the booth, nearly grazing Hayner’s shoulders. Hayner is decidedly done with both of them and simply returns to his food in silence. Not that Seifer takes it to heart.

“Are you going to try again?” Seifer asks Pence, nabbing some of Hayner’s hashbrown, despite the other’s vocal protests. “It seems like she’s pretty consistent. You might be able to see her another time.”

Pence shakes his head, disappointed, but not about to let it keep him down.

“Nah, there’s some other legends I wanna look up anyways. Ghosts are fun to read about, but I doubt they actually exist. It’s probably just the wind making weird sounds and late night partiers going home.” Seifer hums in agreement. “And I don’t think I could get Hayner out with me again, so…”

“Pence, if you try and get me out before six am ever again I will divorce you.” Hayner says instantly.

“But, what if-” Pence tries, perhaps already thinking of his next request.

“ _Divorced._ ”

“Hayner!” Pence cries out, rather distressed, but Hayner ignores him, and his friend’s persistent blatherings following this. He would almost be annoyed, but as Seifer chuckles at their interactions, piping in whenever he can be an ass, his arm slowly drops, and loops around Hayner’s waist, ruining every sour mood Hayner tries to be in.

Sneaky bastard.  

It’s a quarter past six when they finally move back into the streets, where more people have roused themself into wandering around, and Pence leaves them with a cheerful wave and promise to keep them updated, despite Hayner’s insistent disinterest and Seifer’s only mild curiosity. Hayner knows that means little to his sleuthing friend and simply returns his wave with his own smile that’s quickly overtaken by a yawn.

“Well,” Hayner huffs, quite ready to return to his one true love: his comfy and cozy bed, “I’m ready to go home.”

“Is that an invitation?” Seifer asks, with a smirk that leaves Hayner wondering if he had any other facial expression. Hayner’s own face heats up briefly before he’s shoving the other man away with an annoyed groan.

“You wish. I’m going home to sleep for thirty hours straight.”

There’s a gentle tug on his hand and Hayner allows himself to be pulled back in as Seifer’s expression becomes more fond than arrogant.

“Come on, my apartment isn’t far from here.” Hayner raises a brow which causes Seifer to chuckle and squeeze lightly on both of Hayner’s hands. “I’m just as tired, Lamer, don’t get any ideas. Figured it’d be nicer than making you walk all the way home in the cold.”

It’s the middle of summer and the mornings aren’t terribly cool, but Hayner lets himself be persuaded anyways.

They both crash as soon as they flop onto Seifer’s bed, Seifer only taking the time to throw one arm across Hayner after pulling a blanket half way up both of their bodies, and Hayner tucking himself in nicely into Seifer’s chest. However, in their haste for sleep, they forget to draw Seifer’s curtains and Hayner is rudely awakened several hours later by the sun insisting on reminding him that it is indeed morning and that means it is time to be _up_.

Hayner manages to untangle himself with only mild complaints and upon stumbling into the kitchen, learns Seifer has two roommates. One of which he actually knows, as Hayner’s face lights up, absolutely delighted when he hears: “Heeeey! Coffee… ya know!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hayner and Rai just... have to be bros in my fics ok... it's law now...
> 
> I hope you had fun reading this!! A lot of it was just me complaining abt my own cafe but sdfghfd  
> I finished this a while back but my poor beta was hella busy... but we got here in the end!!!! 
> 
> why is there a ghost???? what can I say. I like ghosts. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also! Be on the lookout! (In like... three months x__x) I have a fake dating au I'm half way done! >:)


End file.
